Wellbeing

Strengthening Wellbeing Across Our College:  Magnifying the Good & Aligning with our Values

Article by Amy Walker, Head of  Wellbeing & Nala Tubb, Head of Student Character and Wellbeing

Welcome to the 2026 School Year! 

Student wellbeing has always been central to life at the College, and this year we continue to strengthen and grow our wellbeing culture with clear purpose.  During our initial staff days, Amy Walker, Director of Wellbeing, led staff in professional learning focused on whole-school wellbeing.  She drew on two complementary frameworks to help clarify and signpost our path forward: 

Dr Valerie Tiberius’s values fulfilment theory proposes that wellbeing is a product of the successful pursuit of the things we value. In this framing, wellbeing means fulfilling what genuinely matters to you, making progress toward those things, and having your priorities fit together reasonably well—by your own standards of success, not someone else’s.

Dr. Jane Kirkham’s Wellbeing Tree was explored as a model to support understanding of how each element of our program connects and supports the other. While not a prescribed framework, it provided a valuable starting point for shared understanding and a whole-school lens. 

Our wellbeing, and our wellbeing programs at the College, are influenced by systems, individuals, communities, and society. The College’s extensive stakeholder engagement over recent years has refined our purpose and values and has shaped our strategic directions. We are now developing our own distinctive definition and framework for wellbeing that directly aligns with our foundational ‘roots’.

To enable this important work, we have established some additional key structures. Late last year, Nala Tubb commenced in the role of Head of Student Character and Wellbeing and, together with Amy Walker, has begun leading important foundational work in this space. Through staff focus groups across each school, they have identified current practices, bright spots, and areas for growth, using the lens of magnifying the good. Student voice will continue to guide next steps through targeted student focus groups. And last week, our Wellbeing Executive Team has been formed to develop and launch a college-wide wellbeing strategy, strengthen character education, and align our existing, evidence-based programs. These ‘branches’ will help to ensure our wellbeing programs and policies are comprehensive, clearly sequenced, and aligned with who we are as a school community.

What this means for families: 

• We look forward to updating you during this academic year about ways your child’s wellbeing is being supported through a consistent and connected approach. 

• As we embark on this next stage, we invite you to reflect alongside us: What do you genuinely value? Are you making progress toward those things? How well do your priorities fit together by your own standards? These questions lie at the heart of wellbeing, both for individuals and for our community as a whole.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

• We invite families to join us in magnifying the good at home by noticing strengths, celebrating positive moments, and nurturing the wellbeing habits that help children thrive.